My 4 1/2 year old is a swimming fool. We've been very assertive about teaching him to swim. This summer though he just went all out. The kid is awesome, lol....of course I think that. He can dive all the way down in 9 feet and retrieve something and return to the surface. He can swim just like on the swim team with a flutter kick, turning his head (sort of) to breathe, one arm at a time. He learned the backstroke today. I called the YMCA and their aquatics team is awesome (I swam with them for a year or so). He can swim with the youngest team, but he can't compete until he turns 5. It's $225 from now until December and then another $225 in January. It's only $125 for the summer. There are also $30 swim fins, $30 spandex trunks, goggles, and all that jazz. He really wants to do it. I let him watch when we went to the Y, but is he too young? I mean, I know he can do the swimming part. I just worry about the maturity to follow the rules, but doesn't have to start somewhere? We work as houseparents two weeks on two weeks off (no flames please. It's our job for now until God moves us), so a sports team is hard, but the Y has said it's perfectly fine for him to come when he's home and not when he's not. They will write down exercises for him to do when we're at work. He just kind of fell into this, and he really wants to do it. It's a big commitment money wise though for a 4 year old, but so is any sport or activity that I've looked into. He's also an only child if that makes any difference. Anything to get him with other kids is good for him. Any ideas or advice? Another option is for me to work with him until January and start him then to see if it's really something he enjoys before we commit.